Harvester



(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 1.

J. P. MANNY.

HARVESTER. I N 250,272. Patented Nov. 29,1881.

(No Model.) 2 SheetsSheet 2.

J. P. MANNY.

HARVESTER.

No. 250,272. Patente i Nov. 29,1881.

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UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JOHN P. MANNY, OF ROCKFORD, ILLINOIS.

HARVESTER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 250,272, dated November 29, 1881.

Application filed May 24, 1880. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern Be it known that 1, JOHN P. MANNY, of Rockford, in the county of Vinnebago and State of Illinois, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Harvesters, of which the following is a specification.

The present invention relates specially to the rake mechanism of the harvester, and is fully illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which Figures 1 and 2, respectively, are rear and front perspective views of a front-cut machine embodying the invention. Fig. 3 is a front elevation of the same, certain parts being omitted and the driving-wheel being shown in section. Fig. 4 is an end elevation with the driving-wheel removed, Fig. 5 being an inner face view of the hub of such wheel. Fig. 6 is a view in section of the rake-post and connected parts. Fig. 7 is a plan of the combined rake and reel hubs. cam. Fig. 9 is an end view of the joint in the reel-arm, and Fig. 10 shows the interior faces of such joint.

Referring to these drawings more in detail, A represents the main gear wheel, which is mounted on the main axle of the machine, in common with the driving-wheel B, and is connected with the latter through the medium of an ordinary backing-ratchet, as shown in Figs. at and 5. J

O is the rake-supporting standard. This standard is bolted to the casting that forms a bearin g for the main axle, and projects forward, passing over the countershaft D to a point almost directly above the finger beam E. To the forward and upper end of this standard 0 is bolted the tubular rake post F, which carries the revolving reel-hub G, the rake-hub H, and the cam-guide I, which is bolted to'the upper end of the post; and to the upper side of the inclined standard 0 is bolted a box, which serves as the bearing for the rake-drivin g shaft K, which connects the main gear-center with the rake-con ter. The bevel-pinion on the lower end of this intermediate shaft meshes with the bevel-gear out upon the face of the main gear wheel, while the bevel-pinion on its upper end meshes with the gear on the under side of the reel-hub. Both the reel-hub and the rake-hub are mounted loosely on the rake post F, and they are coupled together by means of a clutch- Fig. 8 is a plan of the rake-' pin, L, so that when the clutch pin, which is seated in the rake hub, engages with any of the holes in the reel-hub the rake-hub will partake of the revolution of the reel hub when the latter is put in motion by the shaft K. When, however, the clutch pin is raised the rake hub becomes disengaged from the reelhub and is free to stand still. This clutch-pin may be held in the locking position by means of a spiral spring, as shown, or by any similar contrivance; butit may,at the pleasure of the driver, be raised from that position by means of the lifting-rod M, operated by the bent lever N, which, in turn, is linked to the bent lever 0, that carries a treadle conveniently located for the drivers foot.

The reel-arms, two only of which are shown in the drawings, are rigidly bolted to their respective sockets in the reel-hub but the rakearm. is pivoted to its hub by means of a pin passing through lugs upon the upper face of the hub. From the upper side of the rake-arm there rises a stud which carries a friction-roller, and this roller runs in the groove in the camguide I. The path of the rake in the different parts of its orbit is controlled by the form of this groove, the pivot of the rake-arm permittin git to rise and fall, as required. The groove should be so shaped with reference to such pivot and the axis of motion that the rake will move substantially in a horizontal plane while sweeping the grain from the platform, the upper wall of the groove acting upon the frictionroller to prevent the rake from jumping away from its work; but upon leaving the platform the rake should be thrown up, so as not to interfere on its forward movement with the driver; also, while passing backward over the platform the rake should move in a lower plane than that of the reel-bats; but at some point in its forward movement it should be raised up above the path in which the reel-bats move, in order that, if required by the nature of the work, the rake may be held stationary and the bats be permitted to pass it. lVhenever it may be desired thus to arrest the motion of the rake while the reel-bats continue in action, it is only necessary for the driver to press his foot upon the treadle connected with the lever O, which will raise the lifting-rod M. This rod is provided with a head, m, that projects through a slot in the tubular rake-post, and

this head is wedge-shaped,its upper face being inclined. Moreover, the clutch-pin L is provided with a cap-piece, l, which has a projection that is wedge-shaped on its under face. The relation of these parts is such that when the rod M is raised this wedge-shaped projection connected with the clutch-pin will ride up on the incline of the head m, and thus lift the pin out of engagement with the reel-hub. The rake, being now no longer positively connected to the reel-hub, is free to be brought to a state of rest, which can readily be effected either by means of some movable piece thrown into the path of the rake or some of its adjuncts, or by arranging a fixed stop against which some movable part of the rake or its adjuncts may be made to strike. Two modes are illustrated in the drawings. A pin, 13, may project from the under side of the cam-guide in such relation to the head of the clutch-pin that when the latter is carried up into its raised position itwill strike against such pin and thus immediately arrest the revolution of the rakehub. Instead of this positive stop a sharp depression, I, may be made in the groove on the upper face of cam-guide 1, into which the friction-roller onv the guide-lug of the rake-arm will fall by the force of gravity when the rake reaches the proper point. The resistance thus offered to the forward advance of the rake should be sufficient to overcome the friction between the rake-hub and the reel-hub.

Whatever be the method adopted for arresting the movement of the rake after the clutchpin has been raised, it is manifest that when once brought to a state of rest it may be kept so as long as the driver may desire, and as the rake has been thrown up above the path of the reel-bats any number of bats may be permitted to pass the rake until they have accumulated a gavel of the desired size. The rake will then be thrown into action again by simply releasin g the treadle from the pressure of thedrivers foot, as the springs bearing respectively upon the lifting-rodM and theclutch-pin will restore these parts to their-normal positions, the clutchpin, under the action of its spring, falling into the next succeeding hole in the reel-hub. As the holes made in the reel-hub for the reception of the clutch-pin are only arranged between the sockets of the reel-arms, there can be no danger of the rake in its descent becoming entangled with any of the bats.

It is manifest that instead of making both the head on the lifting or shipping rod M and that on the clutch-pin wedge-shaped, it may suffice to make only one of them of that shape, as, with a proper inclination of the incline, the operation would be substantially the same as is above described.

In order to prevent the rake from falling backward when its hub is thrown out of engagement with the reel-hub, a spring-stop, It, may be arranged in the groove of the cam-guide 1. Such a spring will yield as the friction-roller attached to the rake-arm passes over it in one direction; but as the roller passes it will immediately rise up behindit to prevent any backward movement of the rake-arm. Instead of a spring-stop, a gravity latch or stop may be used, the principle of operation being substantially the same.

The rake and reel post F, as is fully shown in'the drawings, inclines at a large angle (approximately forty-five degrees) toward the grain side of the machine. The object of thus inclining the post is to raise the reel-bats, on their forward return movement, up out of the way of the driver without the use of cams. With this arran gementof the post the reel-arms can be rigidly bolted to the reel-hub, and yet rise high enough approximately to avertical position to clear the drivers seat and the driver. This rake and reel post, as seen in Figs. 2 and 4, is also inclined somewhat toward the rear of the platform, which facilitates the proper entry by the reel-bats and the rake upon the platform. The rake, instead of being united to its hub by a pivot which is at right angles to the length of its arm, is pivoted thereto in the manner shown in Fig. 7, in which the two bearings of the pivot-pin are equally distant from the center of the hub; but the pin itself is arranged diagonally to the rake-arm, and so as to throw the rake into a position in advance of that which it would occupy were the pivot at right angles to such arm. The object of thisis twofold: First,it throws the rake around nearer to the bat which immediately precedes it; and, secondly, it regulates the speed of the rake in the difierent parts of its path over the platform.

It is desirable, in order to prevent too precipitate a discharge of the gavel from the platform that the speed of the rake should be retarded as it approaches the rear of the platform, and its retardation at this particular point is effected by the diagonal pivoting of the rake, as above described. The rake will move the most slowly when the pivot-pin is directly under the inclined rake-post, and the inclination of this post is such that if the pivot were at right angles to the rake-arm the speed of the rake would be increasing as it approaches the rear of the platform; but by the diagonal pivoting the rake is thrown forward of the position it would otherwise occupyrelatively to its pivot, and thus is made to discharge the gavel when it is moving the most slowly.

While the holes in the reel-hub for the reception of the clutch-pin are arranged between the sockets of the reel-arms, they should be placed as close behind such sockets as is prac- -ticable. By arranging them in this way it will follow that the rake will descend to its work immediatelybehind the bats, and will not strike the standing grain. 1t is believed that this arrangement is greatly preferably to those constructions in which the rake-head is made to reel in the standing grain. Iusuch last-named constructions, aside from the combing action of the rake upon the grain, (which is necessarily injurious,) there is an imperfect action growing out of the fact that the rake-head and the reel-bats act in different planes.

The reel-arms are made in two parts, the inner part being firmly bolted to its socket on the reel-hub, and the other part being adjustably clamped to such inner part. This relative adjustment of these two parts, which is designed to regulate the height of the bats, as may be required by the character of the grain to be cut, is effected by means of a set-screw and of corrugated plates attached to the inner faces of the joint. These corrugated plates are represented in Figs. 9 and 10. Of course, the inclination of the reel-bat on the outer end of the reel-arm must be accommodated to the adjustment given to the joint between the two sections of the reel-arm. This can readily be done by means of the set-screw which fastens the bat to the reel-arm.

Instead of making the rake and reel post tubular for the reception of the shipping-rod M, as above described, it is plain that the shipping-rod may be arrangedin a slot in the side of an otherwise solid post.

One marked advantage in the mechanism constituting the presentinvention, as compared with those constructions i n which the rake-head can be thrown up or turned so as to pass the platform without raking is this: With such last-named mechanisms the rake practically must be out of action during the timerequired for an entire revolution of the bats, while in the present invention the rake, if desired, may be thrown out of action for a less period of time, varying from the time required for all the bats to pass it down to that required for a single one only to pass.

Inasmuch as the rake-hub is disengaged from the reel-hub by the action of a revolving part-viz., the wedge -shaped head on the clutch-pin-upon a stationary partthat is, upon the head of the shipping-rod Mit will be seen that the rake can be arrested only at one point in the revolution of the reel-hub, but it can be returned to action at any point in the revolution of the reel hub which brings any one of the holes in such hub into coincidence with the clutch-pin.

What is claimed as new is 1. A rake-supporting standard carrying the rakedriving shaft and projecting forward from the axle and the main gear-wheel of the machine, and above and across the countershaft of the same, substantially as described.

2. The combination, in a harvester, of a stationary rake-guiding cam, a revolving rakehub, and a revolving reel-hub, these several devices being mounted on a common post, and the rake-hub being placed above the reel-hub, substantially as set forth.

3. The combination, in a harvester, of a revolving reel-hub with the beater-arms rigidly secured thereto, a rake-hub revolving around the same center, a rake pivoted to such hub, and a cam constructed and arranged substantially as described, so as to cause the rake to rise above and fall below the path of the bats or beaters, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

4. The combination, in a harvester, of a revolving reel-hub, a rake-huh arranged above the same and revolving around the same center, a rake pivoted to such hub, a cam for controlling the vertical movements of the rake and causing it to descend below and rise above the path of the bats, and a shipping mechanism arranged to throw the rake out of gear and bring it to a rest when raised above the path of the bats, substantially as and for the purpose described.

5. The combination, in a harvester, of a revolving reel-hub, a rakehub driven thereby and revolving around the same center, a stationary cam-guide for controlling the vertical movements of the rake, suitable shipping devices for disengaging the rake mechanism from the reel-hub, and a stop arranged in connection with the cam, to prevent the forward movement of the rake when thus disengaged.

6. In combination with the revolving rakehub and the cam for controlling the movements of the rake, a depression in the cam track or groove for receiving the friction roller or lug on the rake arm, and thus arresting the advance of the rake when the rake-hub has been disengaged from the reel-hub.

7. The combination of the tubular rake-post, the shipping-rod mounted therein, and the clutch-pin arranged in a suitable bearing on the rake-hub and provided with a head for engaging with the head on the shipping-rod when the latter is raised, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

8. In combination with the shipping-rod mounted in the tubular rake-post and provided with a suitable head for acting upon the head of the clutch-pin, in the manner described, a system of levers for operating the same, extending in front of the main drivingwheel, and connecting with a treadle or some equivalent device located under the easy control of the driver, substantially as set forth.

9. The combination of the reel-bats and the rake, constructed and arranged in such manner that the rake in descending to the platform is made to follow immediately behind a bat, so as not itself to act as a bat or beater on the standing grain.

10. In combination with a rearwardly-inclinedrake-post, the rake-pivot arranged diagonally to the rake-arm, so as to regulate the speed of the rake in different parts of its path,

substantially as described.

JOHN P. MANNY. Witnesses:

FRANK 0. KING, J. GERBER. 

